Exploring Tacoma's Prairie Line Trail

Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail is finally complete after more than a decade of planning and construction. The mile-long trail brings together Tacoma’s past and present through established landmarks and art installations. It’s a short and easy walk that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy.

Read on to learn what the Prairie Line Trail has to offer and how it came to be.

Scenes along the Prairie Line Trail

The Prairie Line Trail starts out at the intersection of Hood Street and South 25th Street in Tacoma, then ends at the 15th Street ramp near the Thea Foss Waterway Public Esplanade. The walking path varies from pavement to brick and crosses under skybridges, past historical brick buildings, and through the middle of the University of Washington-Tacoma (UW-Tacoma) campus. Art installations recognize many moments in Tacoma’s history, from the persecution of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The Prairie Line Trail’s online guide allows visitors to discover points of interest in real time. Check out some of the scenes along the trail below, in order from the southernmost end of the trail to the northernmost end. Then stick around to learn about the history of the line and the construction process.

The southernmost end of the Prairie Line Trail begins at the intersection of Hood Street and South 25th Street and passes through the Brewery District. This 50-foot-tall mural appears on the side of the 7 Seas building next to the trail. Titled “Working Forward, Weaving Anew,” artists Jessilyn Brinkerhoff and Esteban Camacho Steffensen used paint and laser-cut steel overlays to portray Puyallup basketweavers. Nine Native American artists helped bring the artwork to life.

Across the street from 7 Seas, the rain garden on South 21st Street incorporates the rail line into a water-purifying planter (above, left). The line continues on, merging on the UW-Tacoma campus (above, right).

“All the Rivers in the World” by Vaughn Bell features a painted aluminum river that meanders 200 feet along the trail. “All of the river names included in this artwork were given by members of the UW-Tacoma community in ‘river gathering’ workshops,” an informational plaque reads.

The intersection of the Prairie Line Trail and South 19th Street is a common entrypoint to the UW-Tacoma campus. The library’s reading room (above, left) was once the Snoqualmie Falls Power Co. Transfer House. On the opposite side of the trail, stairs lead to the trademark W that represents UW (above, right).

Metro Coffee, located across from the library’s reading room, is housed in a historic brick building. Gorgeous facades like this are common along the trail and invite trail walkers to stop and enjoy the architecture.

Above, Left: A skybridge crosses over the Prairie Line Trail, connecting the Keystone Building and the Science Building. Above, Right: According to the Prairie Line Trail guide, Brian Goldbloom’s granite sculptures draw “inspiration from Tacoma’s place as the Western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Made up of 10 hinged pieces of rough white granite that reference travelers’ suitcases, the sculpture sits in a courtyard close to the location of the original passenger terminal, Villard Station.” Interestingly, the sculptures, titled “Terminus,” also look like open books, suggesting the idea that what was once a rail line is now a place of learning.

The brick walkway of the Prairie Line Trail runs alongside the old rail line.

Above, Left: Faded lettering can be seen on the side of the historic West Coast Grocery, just above a charming patio behind Mikey’s Public House. Above, Right: West Coast Grocery “supplied groceries from Montana to Alaska, but went belly up in the Panic of 1893,” according to the Prairie Line Trail guide.

“Maru” by Gerard Tsutakawa “honors the Japanese Language School that once stood at Tacoma Avenue and S 19th Street.” The Prairie Line Trail guide also explains that it “celebrates the Japanese American community that thrived in this neighborhood until incarceration during World War II.” This photo looks through Maru toward two informational plaques about the Japanese Language School, Nihongo Gakko. Pacific Avenue and the Murray Morgan Bridge can be seen in the distance.

Above, Left: Union Station, formerly known as Northern Pacific Depot, can be seen from the corner of South 17th Street and Pacific Avenue where the Prairie Line Trail crosses the street. Above, Right: Wild sweet peas grow alongside the colorful walkway along South Hood Street near the Tacoma Art Museum.

This Prairie Line Trail marker is installed under a now-defunct railroad crossing at the intersection of East 15th Street and South Hood Street where the trail heads down a ramp toward Dock Street.

Above, Left: The Prairie Line Trail passes by the Tacoma Art Museum and continues under the Pacific Avenue exit of the I-705 overpass. Several pieces of art appear along this stretch, including “Where the Rails Meet the Sails” by Rotator (Lance Kagey, Scott Varga, Mark Alvis). Giant concrete fingers hold a sewing needle made from a steel rail, symbolizing “the interconnectivity of life in Tacoma.” Above, Right: A wayfinding sign along the East 15th Street ramp points trail walkers toward the Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade, Museum of Glass, and Seaport Museum.

Although not officially part of the Prairie Line Trail, the Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade is just a staircase away from the trail and offers incredible views of the water.

The Northern Pacific Railroad’s “Prairie Line”

The original “Prairie Line” was the final section of railway that connected the Northern Pacific Railroad to Tacoma’s waterfront.

In 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad line ran from the Great Lakes region to Tenino, Washington, the first railroad to connect the U.S. to the Pacific Northwest territory. The goal was to continue the line until it reached a port on the Puget Sound. Port cities like Olympia, Bellingham, Seattle, and Tacoma were all vying for the honor of hosting the line’s western terminus.

The Prairie Line’s grade was one of the reasons that Tacoma won that honor. It “featured miles of flat, treeless land that made construction easier,” reporter Saint Bryan explained in a King 5 News article. The Prairie Line was completed in December 1873.

This 1878 poster advertised “New Tacoma” just five years after the completion of the Prairie Line. It looks very sparse compared to the Tacoma of today. Image courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society Collections. Image has been digitally enhanced to reduce staining and increase clarity.

The population of Tacoma, once a small settlement, ballooned in the decades following the railroad’s completion. The railroad brought new opportunities and an influx of immigrants. Goods were imported by ship from Asia, including tea.

“The rails in Tacoma allowed merchant ships to offload their cargo in Commencement Bay and send their goods by train cars bound for Chicago, New York, and other markets to the east while also enabling Midwest grains, goods, and people to flow in the opposite direction,” journalist Steve Dunkelberger from SouthSound Talk explained.

Later the railroad would connect Tacoma to Puyallup and the coal fields of Wilkeson.

The expansion of the Northern Pacific Railroad was a source of excitement and investment; but it was also plagued by financial problems and exploitation.

Over 17,000 Chinese immigrants worked on building the Northern Pacific Railroad in inhumane and unsafe conditions, and many died. Some settled in Tacoma after completing the Prairie Line. But resentment toward immigrants grew, especially toward Chinese workers. In 1885, a mob led by the mayor of Tacoma forced 200 Chinese workers out of the city. Tacoma’s Chinatown was burned down days later.

“Shipment to China” by Haiying Wu is installed across from the Tacoma Art Museum. Many Chinese laborers died while building the Northern Pacific Railroad. According to the Prairie Line Trail guide, this artwork was “inspired by a Chinese practice of exhuming remains, cleaning, and packing the bones in boxes to return them to the deceased’s homeland for reburial.”

Chinese workers were not the only group exploited during the railroad expansion. Puyallup tribal members also had land taken from them to promote the growth of the railroad.

The 20th century brought many changes that slowly lessened the need for the Prairie Line: the arrival of other rail lines and railroad companies; the popularity of the automobile; the decline of the warehouse district; and transit modernization. Finally, the Prairie Line became defunct in April 2003.

Planning and Construction

Weedy lots with abandoned buildings, crumbling rock walls, missing railroad ties: that’s what architects faced in the early days of the Prairie Line Trail design process, circa 2012.

Two sections of the trail were owned by the City of Tacoma; the middle section by UW-Tacoma.

PLACE Studio, an architectural firm based in Portland, Oregon, was tasked with “creating a signature public space” that connected downtown Tacoma to the waterfront while respecting history, integrating public art, and incorporating natural features. PLACE fulfilled the brief by providing direction about where the trail should begin, which design elements should be used, and where art would be incorporated. The firm presented their ideas at a public forum in 2012.

The new walking path that PLACE designed followed alongside the rail line. At some points, the rail line disappeared into the surrounding elements, flowing through grass and concrete. At other points, it became art, whether it was a rain garden on 21^st Street or the setting for Shipment to China next to Tacoma Art Museum.

the hands of a construction worker rest on the edge of an open gabion basket filled with rock — A construction worker installs decorative rock on top of a base of Washington Rock’s quarry spalls.

Plans changed slightly over time based on public feedback and budget constraints. With private funding, UW-Tacoma completed their segment of the trail (South 17th Street to South 21st Street) in 2014.

The City of Tacoma completed the purchase of land along the trail, then began Phase I, which stretched up the East 15th Street ramp to Pacific Avenue next to the Tacoma Art Museum. Phase I was completed in 2019.

Construction for the final segment, called Phase II, began in 2024 and wrapped up in June 2026.

Phase II involved contructing a shared use path between South 21st Street and South 25th Street through the Brewery District. Gabions filled with Washington Rock’s quarry spalls and faced with Idaho quartzite stretch along the sidewalk. The gabions provide both function and art: the gabions act as a retaining wall, and the orange-spangled quartzite imitates the rusty rail line. The quarry spalls providing support call back to the hidden immigrant labor that built the City of Tacoma.

Top, Left: PLACE Studio included pre-construction photographs of the Prairie Line in design documents presented to the public. Top, Right: The same area through the brewery has become more beautiful and more walkable after Phase II improvements. Bottom: The gabions seen in the brewery district are repeated at the northernmost end of the trail near the waterfront.

The gabions are repeated in several places: underneath benches, near a water feature, and next to an art installation at the end of the Prairie Line Trail. They close the chapter on an epic project that recognizes over 150 years of history.

In the future, the Prairie Line Trail may connect with other trails and walkways. But by itself, it provides a walking experience unlike any other.

Visiting the Prairie Line Trail

You can start at any point along the Prairie Line Trail, but we suggest choosing either end: the 15th Street Ramp near The Fish Peddler at the northernmost end or the intersection of Hood Street and South 25th Street at the southernmost end. Check out the guide on the Prairie Line Trail website.

Research References

News Articles

“Why Isn’t Tacoma Larger Than Seattle?” by Stevel Dunkelberger for SouthSound Talk
“The telegram that forever put Tacoma on the map arrived 150 years ago Friday” by Craig Sailor for The News Tribune
“From sleepy town to the ‘City of Destiny’: the telegram that transformed Tacoma” by Saint Bryan for King 5 News
“New Plans for the Prairie Line Trail, UWT Station” on Exit133
“Prairie Line Trail: City Open House” from Exit133
“Prairie Line Trail Designs – City-Owned Sections” from Exit133

Design & Planning Documents

Prairie Line Trail Conceptual Design Document (February 2012 Draft)
The Prairie Line Trail Design Document (March 2013)
Prairie Line Trail Phase II (City of Tacoma webpage)
Prairie Line Trail Interpretive Plan

About Washington Rock Quarries

Washington Rock Quarries is a family-owned business that produces rock, sand, and soil products at Kapowsin Quarry and King Creek Pit in Orting, Washington.

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